Means for tying and sealing shipping-packages



S. C. CARY.

NEANS FOR TfING AND SEALING'SHIPPING PACKAGES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 9, 1918.

A HORNE y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

SPENCER C. CARY, OF BROOKLYNv NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO CARY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION 'OF NEW YORK.

MEANS FOR TYING AND SEALING SHIPPING-PACKAGES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented A11 2, 1921.

Application filed March 9, 1918. Serial No. 221,458.

fastened and sealed so as to afford added' security to said package and the contents thereof.

The invention is useful for binding various kinds of packages for the transportation of merchandise, such as boxes, cases, shooks, etc; but it is intended to be employed, more especially, as ,a means for binding wooden boxes composed usually of 1 relatively thin boards or slats nailed to end pieces the thicknesses of which are always in excess of the boards or slats.

The binder consists preferably of wire positioned around the package near each end thereof, said binder being drawn or stretched tightly into contact with the walls of the package so as to compress the boards or slats into firm contact with the end pieces of the package, for which stretching operation it is preferred to use an implement of the kind disclosed in copending applications Serial Nos. 210,340, filed Jan.4, 1918, and 212,553, filed Jan. 19, 1918. While the major'part of the binder or tie is under tension, the free end portions thereof are twisted together to produce an arm or member, the same being bent into contact with the surface of the package'so as to lie snugly thereon, said arm or member extending laterally from the plane of the binder or tie,

It is apparent that with portions in a loose or unconfined condition, the resulting arm or member will stand upwardly from the package so as to be in the way of other packages and preclude stacking or piling thereof, in addition to which the twisted arm or member is likely to become untwisted .-and thus slacken the tie or binder sufficiently-for it to slip 03 the package, and, further, the twistedarm or member is likely to cut the hands of the workmen in handling the package.

the twisted end Toovercoine these disadvantages, and to add security to the package and its contents, my invention embodies means for an choring and sealing the tie or binder. A preferred form of the invention embodies a sealing member composed of flat metal in staple-like form, the body of which is provided with apertures and the ends of which are provided with spurs. Said flat metal seal affords a surface whereon advertisements or initials of shipper may be displayed, and said seal is used in connection with a staple anchor as follows :-After the wire tie shall have been twisted to produce the arm or member, and the latter is bent into contact with the surface ofthe package, the seal is positioned to straddle the arm or member, and said seal is driven into the package so as to retain the arm or member in position. The spurs of the sealing device do not penetrate to an appreciable depth into the' end piece of the package, and to add to the security of the fastening, I usea staple anchor the length of which exceeds that of the seal, said staple anchor being driven through the holes of binder is applied to the package near each end portion thereof; so as to compress the relatively thin boards or slats into firm contact with the heavier or thicker end pieces of the package; and the twisted. arm or member of said binder is sufiieiently long to extend across the plane of said thicker end piece of said package .or to the edge of the latter,

whereby provision is made for driving the seal and the staple anchor, into the thicker end piece of thepackages, and thus enable the part or parts to be so firmly attached that they cannot be pulled out without detection. This is important, for obviously the seal or the staple when driven into the thin boards or' slats of a package will not hold securely, and the operation of driving an elongated staple into thin boards may have a tendency to drive the staple into the contents of the package, which objections are obviated by so arranging the twisted arm or member-of the binder that the seal and the staple, individually or collectively, will be come embedded into the end piece of the package.

. Other features and advantages of the 111- vention will appear from the following detailed description taken in connection with the drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a plan view of a binder or t1e applied to a shipping package, and illustrating the'means for and operations connected with applying a second binder or tie to sald package.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view illustrating more particularly the sealing deviceapplied to a portion of a package.

i Fig. 3 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4; is a vertical section through the sealing devices illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

A designates a binder or tie composed, preferably of wire, said binder being passed or looped around a package of one form or another, the same being shown herein as a box or case B, the end pieces of which are indicated at b, and the' boards or slats at b.

.The end portions of the.binder or tie are twisted together,-as at 0, resulting in an arm or member C which is bent at a right angle to the plane of the'binder A.

The binder is applied and stretched around a packing case at a suitable distance from an end portion of such case, but the arm 0 produced bytwisting the free ends of the wire together is bent at right angles to arm or member the plane of the binder and is of sufficient length to extend across the end piece Z) of the packing case.

In one form of the invention the arm or member 0 is anchored to the packing case so as to lie in close contact with the surface of said case, the anchor being in the form of a combined seal and staple, or it may simply It is preferred to anchor the by theseal and the staple as illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, wherein D is the seal and E the staple.

The seal comprises a piece of flat metal of the desired form and dimensions, the body portion d of which is formed with apertures 03, said seal being also provided with depending spurs d In applyin the anchor of Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the arm (J is bent into contact with the case, and the seal D is positioned over the arm, said seal being driven into the material of the case so as to embed the spurs (Z into the boards or slats b, or into the end piece I) of said packing case. The seal operates to confine the arm G into be a staple.

contact with the packing case, but to add to the seal. The legs of the staple are driven through the apertures d of the seal body and through the board or-slat 7) and into the end piece 7), said staple straddling a part of the top portiornof the body of the seal and the. arm or member C of the binder, see Fi s. 2 and 4. I

t is apparent that the seal D may be omitted, and the arm or member of the binder anchored into contact with the packing case by the use of a staple E as shown in F 3, said staple straddling the member C and being driven through the board 6 and into the end piece 6 of the packing case.

According to this invention the binder A is stretched tightly around the packing case so as to compress the boards or slats 71 into firm contact with the end piece 7), and in this stretching operation it is preferred to employ an implement or tool, one form of which is illustrated more particularly in Fig. 1. Said implement may be described briefly as consisting of heads F F, a screw spindle G. a guide rod H and grippers I I. The spindle G is provided with right and left hand threads which engage with corresponding female threads provided in the heads, said spindle being provided at one end with a hand-crank or other suitable operating device. The guide rod H is attached to one head and has a sliding fit in the other head, said rod cooperating with the screw in retaining the heads in parallel relation. The grippers I I may be of any suitable construction adapted to be carried by the heads and to have frictional contact with the binder or tie near the end portions thereof. Said implement and the grippers thereof are adapted to rest upon the packing case and to have engagement with the binder A without liftingsaid binder away from contact with the surface of the case. The heads and the grippers engage firmly with the binder near theends. and after said binder s'hallhave been passed around the case and the grippers shall have been engaged with said binder, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the screw spindle is operated to impart relative movement between the heads, the effect of which is to draw the major part of the binder A tightly around the case and to compress the slats or boards 7) into firm contact with the end piece 6. The ends of the binder are loose or free between the grip.

pers I I, so that the operator is enabled eas ily to manipulate said loose ends by hand or by any deslred tool for the purpose of twisting the end portions of the binder to- ..gether ate,

' ,i1cc ording to this invention,.the procedure loop so as to draw it into tight contact with the package, and then placing additional tension upon the binder while the latter is held under initial tension by the stretching or pulling means. The second described tensioning operation takes up the slack in the binder intermediate the pulling points, and enables the binder to be so tightly applied as to be partially embedded in the material of the shipping package, especially at the corners thereof as indicated in Fig. 1.

This partial embedding of the binder into the corners of the package is useful for two reasons; first, the binder is retained against displacement relatively to the package so that said binder cannot slip off the package during the transportation or handling thereof, nor is it necessary to use fasteners, such as staples or nails, for fastening the binder around the package.

to the package for precluding its displacement; and, second, the tension applied to the binder is so great as to compress the components of the package (such as the slats into contact with the end pieces) into firm and solid contact, whereby the binder adds stabilityto the package for the reasons that the parts are held firmly together by the tension and the binding material itself increases the strength of the completed package. In this connection it is desired to call attention to the fact that the stretching'or tensionirg means exerts a pull in two directions upon the binder, the effect of which is to quickly take up the slack in the loop when the binder is first looped around the pack age, and said tensionin'g or stretching means pulls the binder more tightly and quickly The binder having been looped around the package, andtension applied initially thereto so as to draw the binder tightly, it becomes important not only to lock the crossing end portions of the binder, but to take up the slack in that part of the crossing or lapping end portions intermediate the gripping and pulling contacts of the stretcher with the binder, otherwise upon the removal of the stretcher or initial tensioning means there would be an appreciable decrease in the tension of the binder. In this invention the binder is composed of wire or such other material that its lapping or crossing end portions are adapted to be twisted directly together. Having initially placed tension upon the binder, and while the same is held under tension by the stretching mechanism, I proceed to place additional tension upon the binder by twisting together the two crossing end portions of the binder, the twist 0 being at a point intermediate the gripping points of the heads F F and wedges I I, and such twisting operation being effected either by a manual operation or by ppropriate mechanism. By twisting the crossing. binder ends at c, the slack in the binder intermediate the two gripping and vdicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

, pulling points is taken up, and by the described operations the entire binder is placed under such tension that upon the removal of the stretcher it is efficient in retaining the components of the package in a compressed condition.

By twisting together the ends of the binder, there is produced a member C which in one form of the invention extends at a right angle to the plane of thebinder, as in- The operator now drives the staple E over the arm or member C, or the seal D is applied over the arm or member and the staple E driven through said seal so as to straddle the member, as in Figs. 1, 2 and 4. The end portions of the tie are thus disposed into compact relation with the packing case and are anchored securely thereon, thus completing. the operation of applying the binder to the packing case, after which the grippers I I are released; and the implement or tool is lifted off the packing case, leaving the binder applied tightly thereto.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure b Letters Patent is:

1. ld eans for binding and sealing a shipping package embodying a tie the end portions of which are twisted itogether and produce an arm or member extending from the plane of the tie, a sealing member embracing said arm or twisted member, and an anchoring staple straddling the arm or twisted member and in 'contact with said sealing member for retaining the arm or twisted member and the sealing member into close contact with said package.

2. Means for binding and sealing a ship-.

ping package embodying a tie the. end portions of which are twisted together to produce an arm extending from the plane of arm, and an'anchor driven into the package and cooperating with said seal and the arm for retaining the same into close contact with said package. 7

y 3. Means for binding and sealing a shipping package embodying a tie the end portions of which are twisted together to produce an arm extending from the plane of said tie, a flat seal provided in. its body portion with apertures and with spurs, said seal embracing said twisted arm and having its spursembedded in said package, and a staple anchor passing through the apertures of the seal and driven into the package for retaining the seal and said twisted arm into close contact with said package.

4:. In the art of binding shipping packages, the improvement which consists in looping around a package a binder the end portions of which are in crossing relation, placing tension upon the binder by applying strain thereto at two separated points, thereby drawing the binder into tight contact with the package and partially embedding said binder into the material of the' package at the corners thereof, and placing additional tension upon the binder bytwisting together the crossing end portions of said binder at a point intermediate the two separated points at whichtensi'on is initially placed upon the binder.

5. In the art of binding shipping packages, the improvement which consists in looping around a package a wire binder the end portions of which are in crossing relation, placing tension initially upon the binder by pulling the same in two directions,

thereby drawing the binder into such contact signed my name this 8th day of March 1918.

with the package as to partially embed the wire into the corners of said package, and

while the binder is under tension .twisting the crossing end portions of said binder at a point intermediate the two pulling points, whereby the twisting operation applies additional tension to the binder by reducing the effective length thereof intermediate the two pulling points.

6. In the art of binding shipping packages, the improvement which consists in ini-- tially placing tension upon a wire binder by applying strain thereto at' separated points, and subsequently placing additional tension upon the wire by twisting together its end portions at a point intermediate the two said separated points at which tension is initially placed upon the binder.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto SPENCER C. CARY. 

